VZCZCXRO4444
RR RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHTM
DE RUEHKG #0425/01 1351714
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 141714Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY KINGSTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6336
RUEHPNH/NVC PORTSMOUTH 0516
INFO RUEHZI/WHA IM POSTS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINGSTON 000425 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR CA/FPP 
DEPT ALSO PASS TO KCC 
POSTS FOR FRAUD PREVENTION MANAGERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC JM
SUBJECT: FRAUD SUMMARY JAN-MAR 2008 KINGSTON 
 
REF: A) 08 KINGSTON 00091  B) 07 KINGSTON 01742 
 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY.  In the second quarter of FY 2008, the Fraud 
Prevention Unit focused on public outreach and interagency 
cooperation, particularly with our law enforcement colleagues.  FPU 
organized an interagency roundtable, conducted three offsite field 
trips for officers, and gave presentations to airline 
representatives, immigration officers, and our friends at the 
British and Canadian High Commissions.  Kingston's FPU received 233 
Nonimmigrant Visa (NIV) cases, 3 new Immigrant Visa (IV) cases, 9 
American Citizen Services (ACS) cases, and 150 external requests 
(data checks from DHS, airlines, local immigration, etc.).  FPU 
processed an additional 160 walk-in cases and entered 318 CLASS 
records based on I-275 turn around reports and other tip reports. 
Of all the NIV cases referred, 167 were closed, with 49 confirmed 
fraud (confirmed fraud rate: 29%).  7 IV cases were closed this 
quarter, with three confirmed fraud (confirmed fraud rate: 43%). 
END SUMMARY 
 
----------------------- 
NONIMMIGRANT VISA FRAUD 
----------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) PERFORMERS: In January, FPU intercepted a group of sixteen 
performers who had close ties to the Caribbean Alliance Group, a 
petitioner known to FPU to have associations with drug trafficking. 
While this group of performers had applied under a new petition, 
many of the group had previously traveled for Caribbean Alliance 
Group and the bona fides of their previous travel could not be 
established.  Most of the group could not give convincing answers 
about their upcoming tour, so the group was refused and their ties 
to the suspect petitioner were documented. 
 
¶3. (U) J1 SUMMER WORK AND TRAVEL PROGRAM: In February, our 
interviewers noticed a group of J1 summer work and travel students 
whose program dates ran from February to May 2008.  FPU investigated 
the group and determined that none of the students met the 
qualifications for the summer work and travel program.  Most were 
only part-time students and several claimed to attend the Computer 
Professionals Training Institute, a bogus educational entity.  The 
group's travel agent, Annie Wilson, had organized their applications 
and claimed to represent the group on behalf of the Nu Krew 
Employment Agency.  However, this was not the first time that Ms. 
Wilson had come to the attention of the Fraud Prevention Unit.  She 
had previously attempted to obtain visa appointments through 
fraudulent means.  Adhering to Kingston's new "zero-tolerance" 
policy for agents who abuse the expedited appointment process, FPU 
has barred Ms. Wilson and the Nu Krew Employment Agency from using 
the expedited system.  FPU also reported the suspicious U.S. 
employment agency, Philadelphia International Institute, to the 
Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). 
 
¶4. (U) PENN RELAYS: The Penn Relays track and field meet in April of 
each year is a major athletic event that is a significant cultural 
milestone for many young Jamaican athletes.  Hundreds of high school 
and university students apply for visas each spring to attend the 
meet.  However, many mala fide applicants apply for visas to attend 
the meet as well, disguising themselves as student athletes.  In 
order to combat the high fraud associated with this event but still 
allow the bona fide student athletes to travel, FPU implemented a 
new system to prescreen all Penn Relays applicants.  The FPM and FPU 
investigator delivered a presentation to over 100 principals and 
coaches of the Inter-Secondary School Sports Association (ISSA), a 
local organization that coordinates all sports at the secondary 
school level.  All schools submitted their students' applications 
and passports in advance of their visa interviews.  After the cases 
were adjudicated, FPU verified the student enrollment of all 350 
students over a three day period to ensure that each visa was issued 
to a bona fide student athlete.  The new screening system was very 
successful and resulted in an improved relationship with ISSA and 
all the high schools involved in the process. 
 
-------------------- 
IMMIGRANT VISA FRAUD 
-------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) In February 2008, the FPU staff conducted field 
investigations on outstanding immigrant visa cases over the course 
of three days.  Two of the Unit's Fraud Investigators organized the 
trips and invited an entry-level officer (ELO) in the Consular 
Section to participate each day, in order to serve as a training 
opportunity and help orient the ELOs to the work involved in 
conducting a fraud investigation.  The two-day field trip covered 
four parishes and resulted in the completion of four immigrant visa 
case investigations, of which two were determined to be fraudulent 
 
KINGSTON 00000425  002 OF 003 
 
 
relationships.  FPU plans to continue to organize these field trips 
bimonthly. 
 
 
 
-------- 
DV FRAUD 
-------- 
 
¶6.  (U) Kingston is not a DV post. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
AMERICAN CITIZEN SERVICES AND PASSPORT FRAUD 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) FPU continues to investigate passport and CRBA applications 
for the ACS Unit by providing Lexis Nexis and other database 
searches on applications in order to assist the ACS officers in 
their adjudication process.  Particularly in the rush of passport 
applications that has followed the implementation of the Western 
Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), ACS has brought more cases to 
FPU's attention for verification of U.S. civil documents and Lexis 
searches to verify the passport applicants' claims to citizenship. 
 
-------------- 
ADOPTION FRAUD 
-------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) FPU regularly investigates adoption cases where the 
applicant's orphan status is uncertain.  Jamaica has a tradition of 
informal adoption without documentation, which makes it difficult 
for Jamaican applicants to establish their eligibility.  Often, an 
applicant's relatives in the United States will adopt the applicant 
despite the fact that the applicant does not qualify as an orphan. 
FPU conducts regular field investigations to the applicants' homes 
in order to determine who is caring for the applicant and whether 
the family meets the poverty definitions of the INA. 
 
----------------------------------- 
ASYLUM AND OTHER DHS BENEFITS FRAUD 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) Post's DHS/USCIS Officer-in-Charge reports no asylum cases 
for the second quarter of 2008. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (U) FPU continued our public outreach efforts with airline and 
immigration officer trainings in January and February.  FPU trained 
60 new airline representatives and 20 immigration officers on 
fraudulent document detection, facial recognition and U.S. travel 
document requirements. 
 
-------------------------------- 
COOPERATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) In February, FPU sponsored a roundtable meeting with all 
U.S. law enforcement agencies at Post: the U.S. Marshals, the 
Department of Homeland Security, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), 
the Narcotics Affairs Section (NAS), the Regional Security Office, 
and the Consular Section.  It was the first gathering of these 
agencies in recent memory to discuss fraud issues and was a highly 
successful meeting.  The group agreed to implement better 
information-sharing practices and to meet more regularly to discuss 
fraud trends and other cross-cutting issues. 
 
¶12. (SBU) As a result of the law enforcement roundtable meeting, our 
DHS colleagues have begun to regularly share lists of Jamaican 
deportees that have arrived on the monthly Justice Prisoner and 
Alien Transportation System (JPATS) flights from the U.S.  FPU has 
used this information to ensure that all deportees have been entered 
into the CLASS database.  FPU has also received invaluable drug 
interdiction intelligence from DEA and NAS, as well as developed a 
closer relationship with the U.S. Marshals office to detect wanted 
fugitives who apply for visas. 
 
------------------------------- 
COOPERATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT 
------------------------------- 
 
¶13. (U) FPU hosted a three-day visit by the Department's Fraud 
Prevention Programs (CA/FPP) liaison for the Caribbean in February 
and shared our best practices, as well as the challenges we face in 
 
KINGSTON 00000425  003 OF 003 
 
 
detecting and preventing fraud in Kingston.  The visit produced 
valuable results and strengthened our working relationship with the 
Department and our regional colleagues. 
 
 
--------------------------- 
AREAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN 
--------------------------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) FRAUDULENT ENTRY TO CONSULAR SECTION:  In March, FPU 
received information from the Consular Process Facilitator that 
applicants appeared to be entering the compound without valid 
appointment letters.  After our staff identified several applicants 
who had entered improperly, FPU investigated and discovered that 
these applicants were arriving at the entrance and asking for 
admission to the American Citizen Services Unit.  Upon further 
investigation, the applicants admitted that they had paid a vendor 
outside on the sidewalk approximately US $100 each for information 
on how to access the Consular Section.  The A/RSO-I interrogated the 
vendor and turned her over to the Jamaican Fraud Squad for criminal 
investigation. 
 
--------------------- 
STAFFING AND TRAINING 
--------------------- 
 
¶15. (U) OFFICER TRAINING:  In February, FPU coordinated and hosted 
an intensive, three hour training session for visa officers to 
review visa security features, exemplars of backdated immigration 
stamps, common fraudulent groups and trends, and investigative 
interviewing skills.  The presentation was the inaugural session in 
what is planned to be monthly officer training sessions to cover a 
range of fraud prevention issues as they arise. 
 
¶16. (U) OFFICER FIELD TRIPS:  In March, FPU coordinated an off-site 
field trip to the Registrar General's Department (RGD) to learn 
about the process to obtain local birth and marriage certificates. 
The RGD provided an insightful presentation and tour of its 
facilities.  FPU learned that the RGD has many security measures in 
place and treats its security paper much like visa foils in terms of 
access and accountability.  Officers were able to ask questions 
about the most common fraud trends that arise in visa interviews 
with regards to local birth and marriage records.  The director of 
the RGD, Dr. Patricia Holness, personally gave the presentation and 
guided us on the tour.  The field trip provided officers and staff 
with a better understanding of the RGD and built confidence in the 
RGD's ability to prevent fraud. 
 
¶17. (U) LES TRAINING: Fraud Investigator Erica Beresford attended 
PC-542 Fraud Prevention Workshop at FSI on March 10-14, 2008.  Ms. 
Beresford learned critical new investigative skills and how to apply 
the latest CA/FPP tools.  She also benefited from interacting with 
her colleagues from around the world.  Upon Ms. Beresford's return 
to Post, she shared her experiences in a roundtable discussion with 
the rest of the Fraud Prevention Unit.  The training was immensely 
valuable and Post plans to nominate another LES staff member for the 
next available training course. 
 
¶18. (U) The Fraud Prevention Manager (FPM) position is vacant.  The 
current FPM is Jennifer L. Williams, an ELO in a six month rotation. 
 
 
JOHNSON